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Spotify to Discontinue Car Thing

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, May 27, 2024.

  1. Melody Bot May 27, 2024
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    The Verge:

    Spotify’s brief attempt at being a hardware company wasn’t all that successful: the company stopped producing its Car Thing dashboard accessory less than a year after it went on sale to the public. And now, two years later, the device is about to be rendered completely inoperable. Customers who bought the Car Thing are receiving emails warning that it will stop working altogether as of December 9th.

    Unfortunately for those owners, Spotify isn’t offering any kind of subscription credit or automatic refund for the device — nor is the company open-sourcing it. Rather, it’s just canning the project and telling people to (responsibly) dispose of Car Thing.

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  2. thechetearly May 27, 2024
    thechetearly

    Regular

    I wanted one of these SO BAD but never had the chance to get one. Absolutely nuts decision for them to do this to such a cool product. It never ceases to amaze me when companies this big make such backlash-inducing decisions.
     
    theasteriskera and Raku like this.
  3. theasteriskera May 28, 2024
    theasteriskera

    Trusted Supporter

    I've loved having mine as a desktop controller/screen solely to look cool & be a conversation starter in the office. I'm bummed it'll only get a few more months of use & it won't be open sourced to toy around with, it's been pretty cool

    car thing 1.jpg car thing 2.jpg
     
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  4. Raku May 28, 2024
    Raku

    Regular

    Well that's a bummer for the people that bought into this... I'd be pissed if I had gotten one because now it's just going to become an expensive paper weight.

    Such a bad call from Spotify.

    This is off-topic, but that's a really cute otter plushie on your desk.
     
    Colby Searcy and theasteriskera like this.
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  6. theasteriskera May 28, 2024
    theasteriskera

    Trusted Supporter

    My fav Beanie Baby :heart:
     
    Raku likes this.
  7. Ryan May 28, 2024
    Ryan

    Might be Spider-Man...

    Spotify strikes me as a company who doesn't exactly read the room on most things.
     
    SuNDaYSTaR, theasteriskera, thechetearly and 1 other person like this.
  8. CyberInferno May 29, 2024
    CyberInferno

    Line below my username Supporter

    Now they just need to discontinue car mode on the app...
     
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  9. SuNDaYSTaR May 30, 2024
    SuNDaYSTaR

    Trusted Prestigious

    Unless it's for safety/privacy reasons, it should be completely illegal for a company to brick the hardware they sell.
     
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  10. CyberInferno May 30, 2024
    CyberInferno

    Line below my username Supporter

    They should at least be required to open source and unlock the hardware so it can be used for other purposes.
     
    SuNDaYSTaR, Raku and theasteriskera like this.
  11. billyboatman Jun 3, 2024
    billyboatman

    Garden Eyes - Movements

    Was just about to jump ship from Apple Music to Spotify. Nvm.